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GERMANTOWN WATER UTILITY vs MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS

Water quality comparison — risk levels, violations, PFAS records, and contaminants

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). GERMANTOWN WATER UTILITY has 0 open health-based violations and 348 PFAS records. MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS has 0 open health-based violations and 232 PFAS records.

GERMANTOWN WATER UTILITY

Wisconsin · WI2670105

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

348

PFAS records

MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS

Wisconsin · WI2410100

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

232

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricGERMANTOWN WATER UTILITYMILWAUKEE WATERWORKS
StateWisconsinWisconsin
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served20,027626,000
Open Health Violations00
Total Violations5281
PFAS Records348232
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeGroundwaterSurface water
City ServedGermantownMilwaukee

Contaminants in Violation Records

GERMANTOWN WATER UTILITY

  • Nitrate
  • Fluoride
  • Arsenic
  • Cadmium
  • Bromate

MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS

  • Turbidity

Key Differences

GERMANTOWN WATER UTILITY has 348 PFAS records vs. 232 for MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS.

What Should I Do?

If either utility shows open violations or elevated PFAS records, consider:

  • Installing a reverse osmosis filter — removes PFAS, lead, arsenic, nitrates, and most heavy metals.
  • Requesting your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for the most current test results.
  • Ordering a certified lab water test if you want contaminant-specific data for your address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is safer — GERMANTOWN WATER UTILITY or MILWAUKEE WATERWORKS?

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). Both utilities have similar violation profiles — review the full data above to decide based on specific contaminants that concern you.

What does "open health-based violation" mean?

An open health-based violation means a water system has exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or failed to meet a treatment technique — and the violation has not yet been resolved. These are the most serious type of water quality violations.

How current is this data?

Violation data comes from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which is updated as utilities report. PFAS data comes from EPA's UCMR 5 monitoring (2023–2025). Risk levels are recalculated daily.

What does PWSID mean?

PWSID stands for Public Water System ID — a unique federal identifier assigned to each community water system. You can use it to look up a system in EPA's ECHO database.

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